My stove is also old and cheap, but I don't think it's your problem because Elery's stove is neither old nor cheap and I have the same issue.

I just cook the mushrooms unti the liquid is gone, then add some butter and sauté until brown. Everyone I know does this, I thought it was normal.

Mushrooms have a lot of liquid, sometimes, depending on the age, the variety, the storage, etc. It's an agricultural product, I don't think the factors can be completely controlled, every batch will be somewhat different.

Annie

In a recipe from Cooks Illustrated for vegi burgers, the mushrooms were cooked at a super high temperature for quite a long time. I use this technique to sauté mushrooms now and like the flavor that is produced.

Don't salt mushrooms until they're nearly finished cooking. That pulls the liquid right out of them.

This post was edited by ruthanna on Thu, May 23, 13 at 13:51

My guess is that you are overcrowding your pan, so they do steam until the liquid is gone. Sauté a smaller batch in a large pan and you will see a difference.

Several things to consider:

1. Do not wash mushrooms. Mushrooms are grown clean. Just use a soft brush to brush away other particles. They will soak up a lot of water if you wash them.

2. What Ruthanna said. Salt after cooking.

3. Liquid from mushrooms is packed with flavor. Incorporate the liquid into your recipes.

dcarch

dcarch, Alton Brown will beg to disagree about washing mushrooms. Actually, he won't beg, he'll just disagree with you.

Here's the transcript of his Good Eats episode "The Fungal Gourmet"..

Here is a link that might be useful: All about mushrooms

I am not totally sure if we disagree. There is a lot of showmanship for him to debunk a kitchen myth by presenting different aspects of facts.

I understand vegetable and fruit cells canâÂÂt normally absorb water, however, depending on the physical geometry, water can be retained even not absorbed.

If you wash mushrooms, mushrooms have under the caps these deep gills which traps water because of the waterâÂÂs surface tension property. Alton BrownâÂÂs test was not wrong because he used mushrooms with very little gills. But if he had used shiitaki, or portabella, he would have very different results.

Here was a test I had done sometime ago with shiitaki mushrooms. I weighed the mushrooms, then I washed the mushrooms and tried to shake off as much water as possible and weighed them again.

Mushroom #1, 0.66 oz before, 0.87 oz after

Mushroom #2, 0.44 oz before, 0.59 oz after

Mushroom #3, 0.50 oz before, 0.68 oz after.

dcarch

I do wash mushrooms, because I've found they're just too yucky if I don't. I've tried just brushing off the dirt, and it doesn't work for me. Sorry. I wash them then towel dry them by wrapping them up in a clean towel.

I've learned to just be patient and realize that it takes longer to cook mushrooms than a lot of recipes indicate. That might be because I wash them, and they've absorbed water, but they do ultimately get cooked the way I like them.

As PK said, not crowding them is also key. Use the largest skillet you have. Use two if you have to, and have the space and enough dishes to do so.

Sally

I saute them in a bit of butter/oil and then turn it hot (medium highish) when they're cooked. Stirring constantly, untl the liquid from the mushrooms and the leftover oil reduces (until there is almost none left!) and the mushrooms get browned. I also cut them in hunks, not thinly sliced. It may make the difference, since they can withstand the higher heat. When I deglaze the pan, they seem to soak it in and then they have both the "roasted" and richer flavor from whatever I deglazed with.

I wash them, too. Once, I decided to try the brushing method. Did not care for the taste of grit in the mushrooms.

Having picked mushrooms at a commercial growers as a teen, I definitely wash them. Grown clean? I don't think so. I realize that the manure they are grown in has been composted, but if you could smell the inside of a mushroom barn and see how dirty they are as they are picked... .As well as the fact that we didn't wear gloves when we were picking them, and used a knife to harvest, so frequently bled on the mushrooms being picked. I just put them in a colander and let the water run and quickly rub each mushroom under running water. I've never had a problem getting mushrooms to brown nicely and I ALWAYS wash them.
Jane

Not crowding the pan, and using pretty high heat, are the keys.

I slice my mushrooms fairly thick (1/4" or more), only have a single layer on the pan with some room between pieces, turn each slice individually (chopsticks), cast iron pan w/ high heat and plenty of butter/oil. Liquid accumulation doesn't happen that way.

I don't usually wash them, but only because I don't see the need - if they are really dirty, then I do.

I usually wash the mushrooms, but not in a sink full of water or under running water, I rub them with a damp towel to get any dirt off, then slice and cook them.

Annie

Thanks Jane. I'm glad i wash them.(!) Just a quick rinse and inspection. Just before cooking. Only buy when looking super fresh and have a plan for them.
I usually cook them down with onion and garlic.
Cast iron high heat, the low and slow for a long time.

We generally only get white mushrooms or portabellas of varying sizes at the stores around here...

When I get whole white mushrooms I immediately put them in a brown paper bag and put them in the fridge to partially dry them for days or even weeks. The more they dry, the less excess water you'll have in the pan when you sautee them, and the more intense their flavor becomes. And I always rinse them well and rub w/ my fingers or a soft brush to be sure I get off all the dirt and gritty bits! :)

I start with a hot skillet, add olive oil and butter, then add the mushrooms. Stir to coat with the oil/butter and saute, stirring. The mushrooms will start to give up their juices. Continue cooking over fairly high heat, stirring, until all of the juices have evaporated and the mushrooms start to brown in the butter and oil. I season with salt and pepper, and sometimes, after the juices have evaporated and the mushrooms are actually "frying", I add a little minced garlic.

~Ann

I wash as well. Several years ago I watched a bit about a mushroom farm that used horse manure to grow them. That did it for me.

I saute them the way Ann T does (minus the salt), but I never wash them with water - I merely wipe them off with a dry paper towel. I have never tasted grit in fresh mushrooms, although I have in dried ones, and so I always let the silt settle out when reconstituting dried mushrooms. I sometimes add a bit of dried thyme near the end with black pepper, and those tend to soak up excess liquid, and I like to saute the thyme a bit to bring out the flavor. I can't imagine why anyone would add salt to mushrooms - that detracts from the flavor for me, but then I rarely use salt anyway.

Lars

I agree with you, Lars. I'm not a big salt eater, but mushrooms have never tasted to me like they need salt, and if they have been salted, they taste too salty for me. I do like to add a little lemon juice to them, though.

Sally

But many mushrooms are mostly water anyhow. I wash them, and recognize that I'm adding water, but I'm compulsive that way.

At any rate, if you're not using wood mushrooms, but are using something like portabello mushrooms, they're mostly water. So it's hard to avoid liquid in the pan. You can put them in the oven to dry them out the way you would a steak before pan cooking, but that's kind of time-consuming. I think dcarch has the best approach - the liquid is packed with flavor. Add some thyme from the garden, or some oregano, some black pepper, and a touch of salt at the end and they're delicious with your pasta! Maybe even reduce the liquid with some white wine or sherry. It's what I'm having for dinner tomorrow FWIW.